GROWTH RESPONSE OF WEANER PIGS FED ENZYME SUPPLEMENTED TIGER NUT (Cyperus esculentus) CHAFF BASED DIETS

Abstract

This study was carried out at the piggery unit of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State to evaluate the performance of weaner pigs fed graded levels of enzyme supplemented tiger nut chaffbased diets. Twenty-four commercial strain of large White weaner pigs with an average live weight of 7.52±0.18kg were used for the study. Sundried tiger nut chaff (waste from tiger nut processing) was collected from reputable tiger nut milk processors at Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, sun-dried for 5-7 days for the determination of proximate composition. Four (4) experimental diets were formulated such that tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus) chaff was included at 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% dietary levels coded (TNC0) T1, (TNC5)T2, (TNC10)T3 and (TNC15)T4 respectively. Weaner pigs were randomly allocated to four (4) dietary treatments and were replicated three (3) times with each replicate having two pigs in a completely randomized design (CRD). The experiment lasted for 28 days (4 weeks). Results showed that pigs fed enzyme supplemented tiger nut chaff-based diets showed significantly (P<0.05) higher performance in terms of feed conversion ratio and cost benefit ratios than the control group. In view of the above results, enzyme-supplemented tiger nut chaff should be included in the ration of weaner pigs as a partial replacement for maize at 15% level for optimum performance and to boost animal protein consumption in Nigeria.